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New 'First Man' trailer puts the fire and fury back into the moon landings

Man first landed on the moon nearly 50 years ago. It’s become such an established fact in history, that the astonishing technological endeavours and human sacrifice behind the monumental achievement are easily forgotten.

Now Damien Chazelle, the Oscar-winning director of La La Land and Whiplash, is setting out to put the “ooh” back into the moon landings with First Man, which looks like the spiritual sequel to seminal NASA drama The Right Stuff.

Chazelle’s first picture since bagging an Academy Award for Best Director in 2017 sees him reteaming with Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, the titular first man to walk on the moon, and the new international trailer gives a sense of the epic undertaking that went into putting men on the moon.

Watch it below.

First Man has received a rapturous response on the festival circuit so far, with many tipping Chazelle, Gosling, and Claire Foy as Janet Shearton for Oscar glory in 2019.

FIRST MAN: There was no one better to take us to the moon than Damien Chazelle. The visuals are stunning and flight scenes intense AF, all leading up to an awe-inspiring climax. Ryan Gosling & Claire Foy are (inter)stellar. Good music, too, which we had to expect. #TIFF18

First Man – An exceptionally beautiful, intimate look at how the determination and courage of men once took us farther than we have ever been before. In a word: breathtaking. Chazelle continues to astound.

There’s been some controversy around the film, and how it handles the planting of the American flag on the moon (does it or doesn’t it show it?), but that’s unlikely to affect the box office appeal of Chazelle, Gosling, and the moon next month.

First Man is in UK cinemas from 12 October.

Here’s the synopsis:

On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

Written by Academy Award® winner Josh Singer (Spotlight), the drama is produced by Wyck Godfrey & Marty Bowen (The Twilight Saga, The Fault in Our Stars) through their Temple Hill Entertainment banner, alongside Chazelle and Gosling. Isaac Klausner (The Fault in Our Stars) executive produces. Amblin Entertainment co-finances the film.